This week we're getting into Lush - the one with the soapy smell that drags you in off the high street like a cartoon character chasing a pie on a windowsill. Charlie's a fan. Jon is not. And someone on Glassdoor called it the most toxic, soul-crushing job they'd ever had. Fun times!We read the reviews - including a five-star that listed "I smell too good now" as the only con - and found out that Lush won Best Places to Work UK 2026 on Glassdoor, which tells you absolutely nothing, it turns out.There's a CEO guess, a broken metaphor so mangled it deserves its own bath bomb, and a take on mental health days that we absolutely could not post on LinkedIn. Charlie also tells a story from her corporate days that is genuinely brilliant management advice disguised as chaos. Reviews are unverified. We don't intend to harm the reputation of any business or individual. Particularly those who are high on their own supply.🔔 Subscribe, comment, tell your mates. It costs nothing and it means the world.

#lush #glassdoor #fiveStarPodcast #workplaceculture #businesspodcast #lushcosmetics #retail #hrpodcast #smeadvice #smallbusinessadviceChapters00:00 The Five Star Podcast presents: Lush01:30 Tangent: Parsons Bakery, Mark's Bread, and Charlie's cheese toasty problem10:02 The Company - Lush by the numbers14:37 CEO Guess - Jon has an unfair advantage15:07 Interviews at Lush: role play, group activities, Australia20:02 Five-Star Review - "I smell too good now"21:09 Bad Reviews - toxic positivity, "carrot on the stick", and the marketing team41:30 The One-Star - "soul-cresting"50:00 Bowls. Is my manager a prick?56:30 One Minute of Actually Good Advice

This week we're looking at what it's like to work at this notorious and very high traffic website via the medium of employee reviews from Glassdoor.

Some of employee feedback is from people claiming job titles we cannot verify.

And yes, one of them lists "edging is strictly forbidden" as a workplace con.

The site turns out to be owned by a company called MindGeek, which was acquired by a private equity firm with an incredible name.

Charlie immediately fell in love with the chairman based solely on his name, despite everything she'd just learned about him.

We also answer the question, when exactly should you hand in your notice? And get into the Jon Ronson rabbit hole, Jon's deeply formative experience cutting round product images pixel by pixel for a adult website in 2001, and discuss the most baffling resignation conversation between an employer and employee.

There's some actual good advice for SMEs about probation periods, among all the usual bad language and messing about.

Reviews are unverified. We don't intend to harm the reputation of any business or individual. We are nice people. Please sponsor us.

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🔗 Bethany Joy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iambethanyjoy/

🔗 Joyann Boyce on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyannboyce/

Chapters

08:30 The Company

12:00 Five-Star Review

14:52 Bad Reviews

30:44 Ethical Capital??

37:07 When do you tell your boss you're leaving?

50:07 One Minute of Actually Good Advice - probation periods

Charlie's first proper job was at Halifax - back when banks had branches, customers had passbooks, and one regular had a disgusting weekly habit she'd rather forget. This week we're reviewing the Glassdoor reviews, discovering why you shouldn't drink and review, and debating whether customer service should be mandatory national service.

In the Bowls: someone's boyfriend wants to co-found a startup with his ex. Wtf?